The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is unsure about appointing the next long-term captain of the national team after completing the ODI World Cup. After suffering an injury during the mega tournament in India, the left-handed all-rounder missed the two-match test series against New Zealand.
Shakib Al Hasan, contesting in the upcoming general election, missed the two-Test home series against New Zealand in November and the ongoing white-ball tour of the Black Caps due to a finger injury. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has previously discussed retiring from international cricket one format at a time.
Jalal Yunis, however, maintained that the board still considers Shakib Al Hasan as their regular skipper despite the cricketer mentioning during an exclusive interview ahead of the World Cup that he would not continue in the role after the mega event.
Shakib Al Hasan Credits: Twitter
“Look, whether Shakib [Al Hasan] will continue [as captain] or not is a matter for later,” Jalal Yunus, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) chairman of cricket operations said.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expressed concern about Litton Das’ “wavering concentration” both on and off the field, in addition to the injury dispute between them and the BCB, and has already departed the team for personal reasons twice during the World Cup.
Despite the concerns, he, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Najmul Hossain Shanto are still in contention to captain the Test team against New Zealand. Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign has been a misery in Sub-continental conditions. They began the campaign with a six-game losing streak, with their only victories coming against opponents from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh Cricket Team Credits: Twitter
Najmul Hossain Shanto was named temporary captain for these two New Zealand series, and the 25-year-old garnered accolades for leading the Tigers to a home Test win over the Kiwis, as well as their first-ever ODI and T20I win over the Black Caps in New Zealand.
With Shanto impressing via his leadership in his brief spell as captain, doubts have been raised as to whether the 25-year-old, who has already declared his willingness to captain Bangladesh in the long run, should be appointed as the Tigers’ next regular captain. However, BCB appears to be holding off on deciding until he meets with Shakib.
